S. 1570: Aquifer Recharge Flexibility Act

116th Congress

A bill to provide flexibility to allow greater aquifer recharge, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen. James Risch — R — ID

Authorizes the Department of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), to use federal land and facilities to convey water to recharge aquifers. Under current law, if federal land or facilities are needed for that purpose, the nonfederal partner involved in the conveyance may need Congressional authorization or federal permits. The bill aims to ease requirements that may arise in those situations by authorizing BOR to: • Redirect water available under a water contract to recharge an aquifer upon request from the water contractor and to negotiate new water contracts to convey water to recharge an aquifer, • Use excess capacity at federal facilities to deliver nonproject water to recharge an aquifer if requested by local stakeholders, and • Convey water using land administered by the Bureau of Land Management to recharge an aquifer if the authority to access that land to convey water for other purposes already exists.

View the full vote history of this bill on GovTrack.us.